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             Although  there  are  pests  in  the  garden that
             devour and spoil our  precious plants, nature has
             provided her own control with other bugs that eat
             many of the pests we wish to eliminate.

             For this reason it is not necessary to kill every
             bug in sight as many of them our our friends.

             Ladybirds consume up to 60 aphids per day and the
             lavae consume up to 30 aphids per day.

             Also Lace-wing flies, praying mantis, small wasps
             and  many birds  consume a  variety of  pests and
             contribute  to a  natural balance  in the  insect
             world.

             Many of the chemicals  available to control these
             pests  are as  toxic to  humans, birds  and other
             wild life, as they are to these insects and bugs.

             There  is  an  equal number  of natural  remedies
             which have  proven effective, in  some cases more
             effective,  in  controlling   pests  and  without
             poisoning our enviroment.

             For  this  reason  I  do  not  intend to list the
             chemical controls available  to eliminate all the
             unwanted pests from  our gardens. These chemicals
             are  available  from   most  garden  centres  and
             nurserys, some  less toxic than  others, and some
             so toxic as to  be devastating to our enviroment,
             to wild life and to us.

             The choice is entirely yours, the remedies I have
             outlined  are all  natural and  non-toxic. Should
             you  wish  you  use  chemicals,  please  read the
             instructions that  come with these  products, and
             be ever careful to the harm you may inadvertently
             cause to  yourselves, your children  and the wild
             life.
  
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             The main  diseases you will  come across will  be
             fungus  diseases.  In  most  cases  it  will only
             require  you to  remove the  infected leaves  and
             burn them.  Should you wish  to use chemicals  to
             treat the  problem then the  following treatments
             are  provided.  There  is  no treatment for virus
             infections,  although  there  are  some  chemical
             treatments that  can be used to  help avoid viral
             infections. These are also listed.

             POWDERY MILDEW
             Powdery  mildew appears  with an  ash-like growth
             over  the   foliage.  It  deforms   young  shoots
             including those of  melons,  cucumbers,  marrows,
             crepe  myrtles  and  roses  and  may  also  cause
             premature leaf fall.
             Spray with Bordeaux or copper Oxychloride.

             DOWNY MILDEW
             Downy mildew  is evident by the  tufts of whitish
             mycelium  under  the  foliage  of grapes, melons,
             onions etc.  Leaves go brown  and crimp downwards
             and sometimes wither at the tips.
             Spray with Zineb, Maneb, or Bordeaux.

             BLACK SPOT ON ROSES
             Obvious black spots on the leaves which later are
             surrounded by yellow, often causing the leaves to
             fall prematurely.
             Spray with Zineb, Captan or combination sprays.

             RUST
             There  is  no  cure  for  rust  on snapdragons or
             calendulas  but spraying  with Zineb  may prevent
             this happening.  For Roses, geraniums,  beans etc
             remove the infected leaves and spray with Zineb.

             PLEASE READ THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE CONTAINERS
             CAREFULLY AND FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS AS IF YOUR
             LIFE DEPENDED ON IT (AND IT MAY WELL DO)

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